Meet the residents and celebrate Eisenhower’s commitment to elevating medical diagnostics to the digital era. Proceeds will be directed to the acquisition of state-of-the-art hand-held ultrasound devices and other diagnostic equipment for Eisenhower’s inaugural class of residents and faculty in the School of Graduate Medical Education. click for more

Sometimes it seems like summer never wants to leave the desert. On those dog days of fall, while heat still clings to the Coachella Valley, the mile-high climate of Oak Glen provides the perfect backdrop for autumn family fun.

An easy, hour-long drive from Palm Springs, Oak Glen is a 15 square-mile hamlet of soft hills, orchards and farms. Because Oak Glen is 10 to 15 degrees cooler than the desert, the air is as crisp and cool as a green apple, often laced with the scent of a cozy fire. This is where trees try on the new fall fashions, displaying brilliant leaves of blazing orange, crimson and gold. click for more

For the second consecutive year, Eisenhower Medical Center has been recognized as one of the nation’s “Most Wired” health care facilities, according to the results of the 2013 Most Wired Survey released in the July issue of Hospitals & Health Networks magazine. Eisenhower is the first and only hospital in the Coachella Valley to receive the recognition. click for more

Eisenhower Medical Center has been recognized as a Leader in LGBT Healthcare Equality in the Healthcare Equality Index 2013, an annual survey conducted by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation,... click for more

Eisenhower Medical Center is joining the American Cancer Society for their landmark Cancer Prevention Study-3. The Cancer Prevention Study-3 (CPS-3) is a grassroots effort where local communities can... click for more

New Mediterranean eatery Figue (rhymes with league), located in La Quinta, is the vision of a passionate owner and an equally enthralled chef who was completely taken by the enthusiasm of his future employer. “The mission statement Lee Morcus posted when advertising for a chef was unlike any mission statement I’d ever read,” says Executive Chef Francois de Mélogue. “I was like the secretary in the Tom Cruise movie Jerry McGuire, who grabbed the goldfish and went with him. I was responding to what his energy was, and I knew what my experience could bring to the table.” click for more

Figue - Savoring Mediterranean— A Unique Dining Experience

Savoring Mediterranean

By: Deborah Liv Johnson

Figue’s pizza oven adds charm to the dining room.

New Mediterranean eatery Figue (rhymes with league), located in La Quinta, is the vision of a passionate owner and an equally enthralled chef who was completely taken by the enthusiasm of his future employer. “The mission statement Lee Morcus posted when advertising for a chef was unlike any mission statement I’d ever read,” says Executive Chef Francois de Mélogue. “I was like the secretary in the Tom Cruise movie Jerry McGuire, who grabbed the goldfish and went with him. I was responding to what his energy was, and I knew what my experience could bring to the table.”

Restaurateur Lee Morcus is well-versed in the food business. Since 1992, Morcus and his father Kaiser have opened several successful Kaiser Restaurants in the Coachella Valley and beyond. Immersed at an early age in the restaurant and hotel businesses owned by his father, the heart and soul of Morcus’ passion for food comes from his Lebanese roots and an idyllic childhood in rural southern Colorado.

Morcus’ grandfather owned the only grocery store in Del Norte — a small, former mining town supply center which blossomed into a hub for agriculture and ranching. His grandfather also farmed hay and alfalfa and raised cattle, sheep, chickens and pigs, and every meal started with homemade Lebanese yogurt (laban), labneh (a soft cheese made from laban), feta cheese, olives, hummus and fresh Syrian bread.

The inviting interior of Figue.

“My grandmother, mother and father were incredible cooks,” shares Morcus. “My grandfather milked his cows and made his own cheese. My fondest memories are about family and food and our daily routines, that daily life with my parents and grandparents.” Figue’s Executive Chef de Mélogue grew up in Chicago, spending summers at his family’s hotel in southern France. “My grandfather fed my pregnant mother copious amounts of foie gras and truffles to ensure that his grandson would be a gourmand,” jokes de Mélogue. “I grew up in a restaurant family with two very French parents and that is what life is about — farms, vineyards and whole, sustainable foods, well prepared.” Completing his culinary studies at the New England Culinary Institute in 1985, de Mélogue has garnered praise at restaurants across the country, including The Inn at South Newfane, Vermont, Le Margaux in Chicago, the Box Tree Inn in Purdys, New York, and the Brewery Gulch Inn of Mendocino.

Blending Morcus’ and de Mélogue’s culinary passions and high standards for organic, fresh ingredients, Figue stands out as a unique, engaging dining experience. Sophisticated and casual, the restaurant’s design lends itself to intimate enclaves and open, large-party slab wood tables with high ceilings and contrasting light fixtures.

And then there’s the food. In the spirit of the Mediterranean, everything on the menu may be shared. Beginning with cured meats like the legendary Jamon Iberico de Bellota or Creminelli wild boar salumi, and small plates such as kibbe (Lebanese lamb and bulgur wheat meatballs) with cucumber salad and hummus, or baked figs and prosciutto accompanied by house-made labne, kataifi (shredded, crunchy phyllo dough), pistachios and lavender honey, guests have the opportunity to try new and familiar dishes. And just for the record, de Mélogue is now curing Kuri Kuri pigs from Cook Pigs Ranch in Julian to make his own charcuterie.

Whenever possible, de Mélogue uses locally grown produce, sourcing ingredients as close to home as possible — the menu changes seasonally. “I think we’re finding our core clientele are well traveled, and they know and enjoy food and are adventurous,” says de Mélogue. “Health-wise, people care about what they’re eating, just as we care about the quality of every ingredient we use.”

“It sounds corny, but it’s food without compromise. We’re committed to buying the freshest, organic, best of everything we can,” says Morcus. “It’s all about the guest experience and at the core of the guest experience is the food.”

Figue offers occasional cooking classes with Executive Chef de Mélogue which generally include a three-course meal.